What are they?
 Human
rights are what one has simply
because one is human.
 Human rights is the language of victims and
the dispossessed.
 Human rights are needed not simply to
survive, but for a life of dignity
 Inalienability of human rights – one does not
stop being human no matter how badly one
behaves nor how badly one is treated.
 Link between human rights implementation
and the state is very strong
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PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members
of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy
freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to
rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of
men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United
Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for
the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall
strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by
progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective
recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the
peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
Adopted on December 10, 1948 as a response to
the atrocities of World War II.
 Article 1 --All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed
with reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
 Article 2 --Everyone is entitled to all the rights
and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status.
 Full text
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.s
html
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 Michael
Ignatieff -- rights exist to protect
individuals.
 worth having only if they can be enforced
against institutions like the family, the state,
and the church.
 moral individualism is the core of the
Universal Declaration.
 Critique-- Western-centric preoccupation
with the individual and free agency
 universal validity of the valorizing of the
individual?
 Shelter?
 Adequate
Food?
 Freedom from bodily harm?
 Education?
 Opportunity?
 Work?
 Freedom of movement?
 Freedom of speech?
 Freedom of religion or religious expression?
 Health care?
 The
interdependence of duties and rights;
your right places on others the duty not to
violate that right
 Individual focus of rights can enhance the
ego-obsession of the self
 Liberalism – the notion of the free acting self
 The collective self; the independent self
 The individual’s well-being subordinate to
well-being of the collective
 Cultural relativism
 Rejects
utilitarianism
 Treats every individual as an end in
him/herself and not as a means to an end
 “Act in such a way that you always treat
humanity, whether in your own person or in
the person of any other, never simply as a
means, but always at the same time as an
end.”
 Do the right thing by your fellow human not
because it leads to a favorable outcome but
because it is the right thing to do
 Right
to life
 Protection against discrimination
 Right against enslavement
 Right not to be tortured
 Habeas corpus rights against arbitrary arrest
and detention
 Presumption of innocence
 Right to freedom of speech
 Right to freedom of movement
 Right to assemble
Right to food
 Access to health care
 Right to work, rest, and leisure
 Right to education
 Right to found and maintain a family
 To participate in the cultural life of the
community
 Donnelly cautions against the distinction
between political and civil rights, on the one
hand, and social and economic rights, on the
other.
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